


Kaa's Cub

by senshi05



Category: The Jungle Book (1967), The Jungle Book (2016), The Jungle Book - All Media Types, The Lion Guard (Cartoon), The Lion King (1994), The Lion King (2019)
Genre: Boa Constrictor, Coils, Constriction, Multi, Python - Freeform, Snakes, constrict, kaa - Freeform, kaa the python, nala - Freeform, simba - Freeform, snake - Freeform, snake coils, snake squeeze, strangle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:55:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23494927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/senshi05/pseuds/senshi05
Summary: Simba fled the Pridelands to escape his shame. He didn't care where he ended up. All he wanted was to forget about his sin. His wish is granted as the infamous python, Kaa, entraps the pitiful lion cub under his thrall and makes him into the perfect slave. Unquestioning and obedient, Simba is no longer the future king he was to become until a familiar face comes along. Can his freedom be restored...?
Relationships: Nala/Simba (The Lion King)
Kudos: 12





	1. Simba The Strangled Slave

Kaa's Cub

Written by senshi05 and edited by WTF123

Chapter 1: Simba The Strangled Slave

The high noon sun streamed down throughout the African jungle canopy, hot and searing as it always was. Amongst the lush plant life and gorgeous views that could be found within this region, other things dwelled that some would deem unworthy of living there. The cunning, manipulative python that was Kaa felt to be in high spirits as he slithered on the moist, yet lush Jungle floor in the middle of the day. He had managed to find a meerkat and a large warthog on one of his monthly hunts last night as they were singing an odd tune about sleeping lion of all things. He had grabbed the meerkat with his tail by the neck, and ignoring his bellowing squeals for mercy, Kaa had swallowed him whole before he knew what happened. His struggle and pleads were most entertaining as he slid down Kaa's gullet. Next, he hypnotized the warthog accompanying the meerkat, but the poor fool hardly put up a fight as Kaa gulped him down as well. This had happened roughly an hour before, and never again would their cheerful songs or bater ever be heard within the boundaries of the jungle, nor anywhere else now for that matter.

By now, the warthog's body was nearly digested with a bulge in Kaa's stomach now smaller far than before, yet just barely still visible. The small critters Kaa passed by saw it and could only hope such a grim fate would never befall them. Kaa's reputation in the jungle was very wide-spread, and not for any positive reasons. All who lived there, even alligators and elephants feared him, despite what they'd say about the matter. He had the potential to rule them all as their king at any time he wished, but such a thing didn't appeal to the snake much to their relief. However, he loved the power he'd feel when his prey was in his grasp, tortured by his coil's mighty constriction. With each victim the malicious snake would claim, it would mean little more to him than another meal, whereas for the animals around him, it would have been added to the tragically long, long list of innocent victims Kaa had killed over the years, attributed to his unfortunately sadistic and masochistic ways of thinking when it came to the food chain. As far he was concerned, he had always been on top, and he was proud of it.

As he wandered aimlessly to the edge of the jungle where the African desert loomed, Kaa was about to settle down to bathe in the sun's heat and let his meal digest more, as he was typically accustomed to whenever he ate. However, his eye was caught by the distant sight of vultures gathering on the ground not far ahead of him. He squinted to see that there was a small lion cub amongst them, who had most likely collapsed from the desert's harsh climate.

With his curiosity piqued, Kaa decided to slither on over to see up close for himself just who this lion cub was. The sight of the infamous snake was enough to make the vultures beat it without a second thought. Looking down at the lion cub, Kaa could tell that the poor thing was exhausted, starving and dehydrated. He couldn't help but be impressed at how tightly the young one clung onto life even at the very end of his rope.

In any case, the cub was completely helpless and would make a fine meal... if Kaa hadn't eaten already. He was about to slither off and let the cub die in peace before, as though fate itself had requested it, a mad thought popped into his head. Some of his prey were young lion cubs who were very fool-hardy in the face of danger as they attempted to emulate their parents. He enjoyed their delusions of courage and resilience as he'd hypnotize them into blissful submission. Sometimes, he'd forgo the hypnosis altogether and constrict them while watching their horrified faces and witnessing in ecstasy as their eyes shot into crimson red from the breaking of their blood vessels, a sight he was used to seeing by that point in his life. All in all, they were some of his favorite prey.

Perhaps the cub there would provide him with sufficient entertainment as a pet, Kaa thought as a sinister smile widened on his face. He had a very good feeling about this...

\------

Simba's eyes opened to the sight of something he never could have expected for the life of him. His head arose tiredly before his eyes widened suddenly. The young cub found himself laying on his stomach against a soft ground, clearly not in the desert anymore. The air around him was much cooler than it was before, but also more moist at the same time. He cocked his head while he stood up, gently rubbing his eyes with his paw. He groaned.

"W-what happened? Where am I?" He asked just waking up. Simba thought for certain some time ago that he was going to die out in the desert, but yet here he was alive and well... at least physically.

The cub mentally recollected the events that had led him into the desert in the first place, thinking of how he felt as though he were responsible for the death of his father. He sighed.

"Oh yeah... that's right." He said solemnly to himself, resisting the urge to break down in tears once more.

But as much as he may have wanted to at the moment, the poor cub could not dwell on these thoughts by any means. For Simba looked around him to get a bearing on where he was. He could tell he was in a jungle of some sort, but he had never seen this place before. Tall trees towered over him, creating a jungle canopy that allowed only sparing amounts of sunlight through their thick leaves.

A thin mist covered the place low to the ground, and strange insect noises could also be heard off in the distance. But what was most striking of all to Simba was that it was dark- darker than it usually would be. At first he thought it was night time, but the sunbeams reaching through the canopy suggested otherwise.

Simba took a few steps forth along the vegetation infested ground. "Hello?" He called out. His voice echoed across the vast jungle in all directions, and yet not a single reply was heard.

"Is... is anyone here?" He called, this time making an effort to sound louder. "Anybody?"

What struck the cub as most odd was that when he passed out, he was lying on the searingly hot desert ground that none had been able to call home in centuries. But the fact remained that he was now in this vast jungle without coming here on his own will. The cub could guess that someone took him here.

"Uh... t-thanks for saving me!" He called out, hoping he would get a response of some sort. But he got none. The cub wandered forth for a moment, becoming increasingly confused and scared with each step he took. The mist on the ground went up past his paws, making it difficult to see where he was walking. His breathing picked up anxiously.

"Someone! Please, is there anyone here?"

Finally, as he walked past some thick bushes, he heard it. A high pitched hissing sound was heard within it, making his heart skip a beat in shock. He felt as though his fur stood up straight as he turned around suddenly, knowing that the sound came from the bush.

"Who's there?" He asked in a quivering voice, unable to cover his fear. "D-did you save me out there?"

A moment of silence passed before a blood-chilling voice replied,

"Well... that's certainly one way to put it, young one."

Simba gulped loudly. "Well... t-thank you, then. What's your name?"

The voice simply chuckled to himself, amused by the cub's innocence. He replied, "My name is Kaa, and you could also say that this jungle knows me well. What is yours?"

The cub hesitated before he replied, "Simba."

Another pause went by before Simba took a step back in fear. "W-what are you, Kaa? Are you another lion?"

Kaa held back his laughter as best as he could, unable to believe Simba would think that another lion was out here. But amused nonetheless, he replied, "Oh no, Simba. Lions don't live anywhere in this jungle here."

"Then what are you?" The cub asked again, this time with fear and anxiety rising in his voice.

And then, Kaa made his move. Hissing ominously once more, he disturbed the bush around for a moment before he slithered out from the side, revealing his long, slimy self to the young one. Simba's eyes widen in terror.

"So... does this answer your question, Simba?"

Simba almost forgot to breathe in that moment, seeing Kaa's slithering form come closer and closer to him. Kaa laughed as he watched Simba back away in horror.

"Y-you're a snake!" The cub cried.

Kaa chuckled. "Well, I'm certainly no lion now, am I?"

Simba backed himself up against a tree, watching Kaa slither right up to him. He cowered down as low as he could, but Kaa simply lowered his head down to him.

"You are very lucky that I'm not hungry right now, Simba," hissed Kaa as he looked into the cub's fearful eyes at point-blank. "If I was, you would've been dead before you even woke up. Of course, your new fate isn't looking to bright either."

Mufasa had once warned Simba about the malice of snakes, particularly constrictors who had their prey strangled slowly to death. Even the hyenas feared the mere thought of strong coils squeezing the life out of them. His father even said how Scar himself gain a fear of snakes after a close encounter as a cub. Back then, Simba thought how cool it'd be to face a constrictor but now all that bravado was gone for good.

As the snake's eyes looked at Simba's, Kaa's tail looped around the lion cub's lower torso and pinned his forelegs in doing so. It continued to coil around Simba like rope to bound him up.

Feeling the slight squeeze, Simba spoke meekly, "W-what are you doing?" Though he knew, the terror of it hadn't fully sunk in.

"Now, I saved you from the desert, Simba..." Kaa said darkly. "And now you are going to repay me for it."

As Kaa's eyes stared deeper into Simba's, they gave off bright, colorful rings that flashed in a captivating sequence. Simba's mouth hung open and his eyes widen as he saw the beautiful display of colors. A wave of calmness spread throughout his body with each loop his eyes took in.

Soon it seemed like the whole world around him vanished. All the fear he once had was fading away quickly. The sadness over his father's death and running away from home melted away, a sudden sense of tranquility replacing it. Nothing matter except for the wonderful color before him.

"That's it, lion-cub," Kaa smoothly hissed as if he were a mother, "Let go off your negativity... and trussssst in me..."

At last, Simba's pupils started to shrink down to almost nothing before reflecting the rings of color back at Kaa. The snake smiled wickedly at the cub's dumbstruck expression as he continually coiled him.

"Some... body," Simba attempted to say, cling onto what consciousness he had, "hel-"

However, Kaa's tail slipped around his throat to give it a sharp tug, making Simba gulp loudly in surprise and fully submit. A goofy smile widened on Simba's face as a loud ping sounds in his mind. Kaa lifted him up in a cocoon of his strong, tight coils. Only Simba's head, hind-legs and tail were visible as he looked like a rag doll in the python's coils.

"Now that we've taken care of that pesky free will of yours," Kaa said sadistically. "You will no longer remember anything from or wherever it is you came from. You will not escape or leave me. You will be my pet, Simba. For my amusement, you will do whatever I say, whenever I say it. And if you defy me even slightly, this will be your punishment."

To drive his point home, Kaa tightened the coils and squeezed his prey's throat in particular. Simba's colorful eyes bulged almost out of his skull as his mouth is left agape and letting out only faint gasps for air. The python couldn't help but enjoy torturing his prey writhe in agony within his coils. Watching gasp for air and desperately cling to life only to slowly but surely succumb to death. The power of it all was intoxicating for Kaa, an addiction he would never get enough of.

"Have I made myself clear, my little kitty?" Kaa demanded as he loosened his grip. As enjoyable as Simba's helplessness was, he wasn't about to kill his toy.

Remaining entranced, Simba nodded his head slightly like the mindless puppet he had become.

"That's a good pet," said Kaa. "Take a nice rest." Once you wake up, you'll retain your personality but you'll be loyal to me. What fun is there in a blank slate?

Simba closed his eyes and fell asleep as Kaa slithering off to his den. He could hardly wait to see his pet prove his worth.


	2. The Python's Pet

Chapter 2: The Python's Pet

Slowly opening his eyes, the poor young cub awoke from his dreamless slumber and got up to stretch himself out. Smacking his lips, he found that they were loosely dripping wet, indicating that he had been given water in his sleep some time ago. Glancing to his right, he could see that he was on the inside of some kind of dark, stony den of some sort, which confused him to a rather large extent.

Upon looking behind him, he saw that the jungle was beyond the den's shadows, with the sun past its highest point and already beginning to set. Some of the low-lying fog that covered the jungle ground in all directions was crawling its way to the inside, going about as high as his paws. The sight was uncomfortably eerie to such a young cub as himself.

When Simba turned to his left, however, his eyes laid upon that of Kaa himself looming over him, making him shudder in shock. Even though his instincts told him to run, Simba unexpectedly walked closer with wide-eyed curiosity and awe at the awesome serpent before him. His eyes met up with Kaa's.

"Ah, good to see you're alright, lion cub," Kaa hissed, feigning concern. "I was almost worried that you wouldn't make it."

"Who are you?" asked Simba in a surprisingly calm voice, beginning to smile in wonderment. He had never met the python before, but something about him seemed trustworthy to him.

"I am Kaa," the snake replied, introducing himself. "and I welcome you to my den."

Simba looked around the cave thoroughly this time to get a clear look. For the most part it was featureless except with a few rocks here and there on the ground.

"I found you in the desert earlier, you poor thing... passed out and on the verge of death." Kaa said making an effort to sound like he cared in the slightest about him. "But out of the oh so strong responsibility I felt from finding you, I saved you and brought you here to safety." Kaa finished."

Simba said back to him, "Well... thank you."

"Might I ask why you were out there to begin with?" The python added, this time genuinely curious as to what the cub would say.

"I... don't know," replied Simba, sounding hopelessly confused. "Actually, I can't even remember who I am or... or where I came from."

"Oh dear," Kaa said, pretending to be sad. "Well, I'm terribly sorry to say they there are very few, if any, lions in this jungle. So your parents are likely nowhere near here."

He kept up the act as Simba lowered his head in sadness for a moment, but he couldn't help mentally smirk. How he loved playing his prey as though they puppets. "I'll tell you what... I'll take care of you from here on out. A-at any rate, your parents are likely looking all over for you in fact, so maybe it wouldn't even need to be forever. Stick with me and you'll be able to survive in this jungle... should the odds be in your favor, that is."

Simba lifted his head up in excitement. "Really? You really mean that?"

"Of course," said Kaa as he used his tail to grab Simba's face and squish it affectionately. "Such a cute little kitten like you shouldn't be out here all on his own."

Simba smiled again once Kaa let go. He didn't know why, but he was already liking his new friend. A moment of silence passed before he asked innocently, "So what are we going to do now?"

Kaa smirked deviously, knowing exactly what he wanted to do first with his new prey...

\------

At sunset later that day, which was the time when Kaa would usually take to his dinner meal, Kaa had led Simba to a clearing in the jungle some distance away from the den, with lush plants surrounding them on all sides as the day's progressively dimming light streamed through the trees. With the mists all along the ground beginning to thin at last, Simba took a step up to Kaa.

"Why are we here?" He asked innocently. Kaa gave him a devious smile.

"Oh you will see soon enough, Simba."

The python used the tip of his tail to point to the thick bushes just behind the cub, prompting him to turn around and look onward.

"Do you see those bushes?" Kaa asked. Simba nodded. "Well beyond there lives a nasty old panther who... says that he's the mightiest beast in all the jungle!"

That last part he added in some intentional melodrama to be sure he had Simba's attention, which seemed to work based on how the cub suddenly stood up so quickly.

"Pfft, he can't be so tough!" Simba said trying to sound brave as any child would. Kaa smiled evilly, as Simba was falling for exactly where he had wanted him to.

"That is exactly why I brought you here, Simba." Kaa went on. "Since I know you're just soo strong and tough, I think you could beat him for sure."

Simba perked up. "Do you really think so?" He asked excitedly. Then the python leaned in closer to him, lowering his voice as he did so.

"Perhaps... however, since we don't want anyone to get hurt around here, I think it would be safer if we... erm, did it together."

Simba raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"All you have to do" Kaa began to answer, "Is go past those bushes and get the panther's attention. Lead him here, and I shall do the rest. Do whatever you must."

At first, Simba was caught off guard by this explanation. His instincts told him to question Kaa since it seemed suspicious, but the horrific hypnosis that the python had inflicted upon him told him otherwise. So tragically, he simply nodded.

"There's a good lad." Kaa said. "You run along now and have fun..."

When Simba heard these words from the python, he got goose bumps. He couldn't put his paw on it, but something about what Kaa had just said sounded familiar somehow... as though someone had said that same thing to him once before. But once again ignoring the feeling, he simply glanced up to Kaa above him before he carefully set out towards the bushes, carefully creeping along the ground with the snake watching happily.

Simba crawled through the bushes making sure not to make any noise as he did so. Pushing the leaves and branches aside, he soon emerged on the other side, where he saw ahead of him the large, stony den of the panther. He grinned smugly as he did not hesitate to approach it. He stopped directly in front of its dark entrance where nothing at all could be seen on the inside. He took a deep breath.

"Hey you big old panther!" Simba shouted tauntingly. "You say you're the strongest beast in the jungle, huh?" He turned around to wiggle his butt up in the air juvenilely. "Well, why don't you come on out and prove it?" He let out a loud fart crassly.

Had it not been for his hypnosis, Simba would have been infinitely less cocky about approaching such a creature especially at the hour when it slept, but nonetheless, what happened next was inevitable. Immediately the cub watched as two glowing yellow eyes opened in the dark of the cave; vivid yet soulless eyes that didn't seem to be living at all. A vicious growl resounded from the inside, echoing across the stone walls that made it clear that the panther had just woken up wanted to kill the cub now. Simba smiled deviously. Under his breath he said,

"Catch me if you can."

And with that, Simba spun around and sprang forth back to the bushed behind him back to Kaa. And if Simba had gone off even a second later, the panther's sharp claws would've slashed him where he stood as the black panther emerged from the den, glaring at Simba while he jumped theough the bushes. Roaring now, the panther shot across the forest floor with astounding ferocity, with his very claws tearing into the dirt as he ran. The panther heard Simba laugh about something on the other side, which made him even more furious. He leapt through the bushes and became fully prepared to end Simba's life right then and there.

If only he knew exactly who the cub was with at the time.

Immediately as the panther ripped through the bushes to go after him, he felt a tight, slimy grip wrap around his throat, strangling him suddenly. The grip strengthened its hold around his neck as he was lifted up from the ground, prompting him to let out a wimpy wheeze as breathing became strenuous. Kaa came out from the bush, using his lethal tail to cocoon his coils more around the panther's body. The panther's eyes widened in shock when he saw the notorious Kaa and began to realize that his end was here.

Simba sneered as he excitedly watch the panther's demise. "That's it, Kaa! Show him who the real king of the jungle is!"

The panther tried to use his claws to rip through Kaa's slimy body but it did no good as his forepaws were pinned to his sides. He couldn't make use of even a single one as his entire body was wrapped up in midair, Kaa holding him effortlessly. He started to scream in agony and choked for air while the grip tightened around his neck at once, cutting off his oxygen completely. The panther's eyes and maw widened as Kaa constricted him with delight, enjoying his prey slowly dying. In a few seconds, the panther's heart ceased beating as he died with a horror stricken face .

After seeing such a horrifying sight, Simba should've been traumatized but instead, the lion cub couldn't be happier. "Wow, Kaa! You were awesome! We sure taught that blowhart a lesson."

Kaa nodded as he recovered from so strong of a constriction. He hadn't given one that strong in months. He smiled evilly at Simba.

"Yes, Simba... and now that you have proven your worth to me as a slave to me... I will be generous and let you share with this new feast."

Simba's face lit up when he said this. "You mean it?"

Kaa nodded.

"Yeah!" Simba said, leaping into the air with joy. "Alright, I'm starving!" He exclaimed.

Kaa chuckled with bliss upon seeing and hearing this. As the two of them feasted upon the dead panther's body for food that night, Kaa contemplated how well his new slave was already proving to work for him. If he would be able to lead a mighty animal such as a panther to him in the first day, then there was no telling what he would be able to bring him in the days and years to come.

No longer would Kaa have to do the dirty work himself. He now had Simba to do that for him, and he greatly looked forward to the day that Simba would be able to hunt on his own and make the kills without himself having to do a thing. He knew he was going to enjoy his new slave a great deal now.


	3. Time Flies By...

Chapter 3: Time Flies By...

Some time had passed after the incident with the panther, and since then young Simba had proven to be progressively experienced at luring in prey to Kaa at his will, leaving the python to only have to do half of the dirty work himself. No longer did he have to carefully sneak up on his prey without making a sound, for now he had an unsuspecting cub to do that for him. He was proving to be more useful than he had originally envisioned.

But still, Kaa was not entirely pleased just yet. For although he was glad that Simba was helping him, there was still the matter of having to strangle and constrict his prey once the cub led it to him. More often than not it would still be difficult to constrict them fully, especially with the larger animals Simba would antagonize.

One morning after a particularly successful kill thanks to Simba, the python simply rested inside the den and watched as the cub darted across the ground and swatted his paws at a fly from outside, coming close to striking it on a few occasions. Kaa found it strangely amusing to watch him try to do such a thing, but then the unexpected happened. Watching him swat at the fly with his underdeveloped claws unsheathed, he suddenly got it. His head rose up and his eyes widened in realization, inhaling loudly to himself. Only now did he realize that if he were to keep Simba as his slave for long enough, the cub would eventually grow to be a wholly developed lion who would be able to do all of the hunting for him. He smiled deviously at the cub now from inside the den. He had just thought of the way to make use of him for the rest of his natural life now.

Moving out into the sunlight, he slithered over to Simba which caught his attention rather quickly.

"Now then, lion cub," hissed Kaa coming out of the den. "I've just come up with a wonderful idea for the both of us. It's time we began your training."

The cub cocked his eyebrow. "What do you mean, Kaa?" he asked innocently as he sat before his master now.

"It will be soon time for you to go out hunting for yourself," explained Kaa. "I know you cannot simply lure animals towards us forever. For that, I believe it's necessary to toughen you up so you can hunt not only for me, but for yourself as well." This was partially the true as he also wanted to relieve some boredom with his pet.

"Ah, I don't need training," said Simba with cockiness. "I'm a lion. It comes naturally to me, like breathing."

Kaa smiled at Simba's youthful brashness and choice of words. "Funny you should say 'breathing,' lion cub," he hissed sinisterly as he abruptly began to coil around Simba's body. Unlike before however, the lion cub reacted less with fear and more with curiosity as he felt himself being wrapped up to his neck, his forearms pinned to himself tightly. "If you're so vicious like the other lions, then I'm sure you can withstand the pressure of my mighty constriction." He looked straight into Simba's eyes with a sadistic glint as he said this, lifting his body up off the ground.

Simba quickly donned a facade of confidence. "Hit me with your best shot."

"Be careful what you wish for," said Kaa as he started to meticulously tighten his coils around Simba's body. "That foolhardiness of your's just might cost you."

In the span of a second, Simba found it hard to breath as he wheezed more and more. The rest of his body was no better as the coils crushed him slowly but surely.

"Tenacious, aren't we?" hissed Kaa. "Let's kick it up a notch."

And with that, Kaa tightened his grip on Simba ever further, sending waves of pain to shoot throughout his body. The python certainly didn't intend to kill him this time, especially with the ingenious idea he had just formulated in his mind. But because of his pain, Simba had almost immediately forgotten about that matter.

"This... is... nothing!" He said with a cocky attitude in between breaths. "You've... done worse than this!"

"Oh, have I now?" Kaa asked with sarcasm glowing in his voice.

At this point he tightened his hold on him even more, listening intently on his futile gasps for air. At first, he expected Simba to give up and admit defeat as he had done beforehand. But despite what he would've wanted, the cub did something he had never attempted to do before: He unsheathed his small claws from within his slimy grasp and rapidly started to move them around, ripping at Kaa's skin. Being a cub, it didn't hurt him very much, but the python's eyes widened suddenly at his sudden determination now.

"You think you're... gonna win again?" Simba said forcefully and in between breaths. "N-not... this time!"

As fast as he could, he tried to wrestle his forearms free of the grasp on him, scratching against the python's thick skin with all his might. Even though it was like trying to drill through rock with a knife and Kaa could only feel mild discomfort from his claws, he nonetheless smiled at Simba's tenacity.

"My, we are rather persistent today, aren't we?" He said trying to sound sincere about it. Then, he decided to try something. In an effort to suddenly sound like he was in pain, he said in a fake tone,

"Oh! Oh dear, I'm in agony at your strength! Oh my, those claws are powerful!"

Kaa decided to finally loosen his grip on Simba to enhance his act, making him fall to the ground. When he did, Simba took a moment to catch his breath before looking up to Kaa with a cocky smile. Kaa put on his best pain face as Simba spoke.

"Ha! See? I told you you weren't going to win this time!"

The cub stood up and dusted himself off before Kaa leaned into him closely. With a hint of sarcasm, he said to his slave, "My word Simba, I had no idea those little claws of yours could be so painful. You truly are blessed with a gift, let me assure you."

The cub snickered. "See? I told you hunting comes naturally for me."

Then Kaa leaned in closer still and said in a low tone, "But it's a matter of knowing how to use them, lion cub."

Simba cocked an eyebrow before continuing. "If you were to let me train you to hunt, surely you could show the other animals of the jungle how powerful your claws are if they could hurt me. I've observed carnivorous animals use them in ways that you would hardly be able to comprehend. Between you and me, I've learned quite a few secrets on how to truly use them from that."

Had it not been for his tragic hypnosis, Simba would've gone against this for sure, knowing that something was up. In fact, his instincts right then were telling him that something wasn't right here. But his instincts were overpowered by his entrancement. He simply nodded to his master.

"Yes, Kaa." He said. "What kind of secrets are they?"

Kaa replied, "Oh, ones that I think we may find useful for our hunts in the future."

He cleared his throat before continuing. "Since you were able to outwit me for the first time, you may do as you wish for today, lion cub. Today is yours, but tomorrow your training intensifies..."

\------

As more time had come to pass, Kaa had in fact shown Simba some techniques on how to hunt that he had observed from other predators he constricted in the past. The python started him off with catching and killing smaller animals like lizards or birds since he was so small. But over the duration of a year or so as his claws slowly developed more, he gradually moved on to larger kills.

Not only was the lion slowly getting better at killing larger prey, but he was also getting much older too. His mane was beginning to grow around his head, he grew larger and more robust in physical form, and his claws were already close to being fully developed. Kaa was nothing short of pleased with Simba's maturing form and his progressing strength which was helping immensely with the hunting. But then as time went on, Kaa decided that the time had come for Simba's first true test in his developing skills.

One morning as the sun's warm rays of light penetrated through the thick canopy once more, Kaa and his pet were awake and out in a clearing in the forest. The python slithered forth to Simba's left as the lion walked to his side. He looked down to his master for a moment.

"So... are we gonna start the next lesson?" He asked tiredly. Kaa shook his head.

"Oh no, Simba. Today we're trying something new."

Simba stopped walking. "But you said we were supposed to go over how to stalk prey now. What're we-?"

Kaa cut him off. "It's another technique I've seen predators do."

Simba sat down next to the python with a somewhat disappointed look on his face, for he was looking forward to being able to make another kill. Kaa cleared his throat.

"Now listen carefully, lion." He started while he slithered in circles around Simba. "You and I will scour the jungle for the largest animal we can find. When we do, I am going to constrict you. You are going to act as though you are in pain to get their attention, and scream as loud as you can. It will get the attention of the animal, and and they'll come running over to try and save you. When they do... I release you."

He came up to Simba and looked him into the eye for this last part. "When I hold him down to the ground... you go for the throat."

Simba eagerly shook his head. "Alright, I can do that." He answered. "Who'd you have in mind?"

Kaa gave him a devious smile. "Oh, someone I've had my eye on for food for quite some time now, lion. But he's too large for either of us to kill alone. If we were to work together however.."

He trailed off as Simba nodded, seeming to get the point. Maa used his body to motion him forth.

"Come, we must be cautious."

With that, Kaa led his pet forth through the forest, now treading through the thick of the wild bushes and enormous trees that seemed to stretch up to the sky. It took a few minutes for them to get where they wanted, but eventually Kaa stopped when they got to a large wall of bushes between a row of trees. Kaa suddenly turned back and went up to Simba.

"We are here." He said quietly. "We have to move quickly. Just beyond these bushes sleeps what could be the largest and most satisfying kill we could ever get. But you must be silent."

He put special emphasis on those last three words, for he was in face sincere about wanting this kill. Simba nodded.

"Good." Kaa said approvingly.

And with that, they silently crawled through the bushes and stepped out into the clearing ahead. And there they saw it. Simba almost gasped when his eyes laid sight upon what was ahead of him: A massive, sleeping grey bear that was larger than himself. Its breathing was calm, but even so he could clearly hear the sounds of his growling from that distance as he breathed. Simba turned to Kaa.

"You've found a gold mine, you know that?" He said excitedly, not a trace of fear in his voice. The python shook his head.

"Not yet I haven't." He answered. "We must do this perfectly if we are to succeed."

He paused, glancing over to the massive sleeping bear. "Now Simba... get on the ground. You know what to do."

From there, Simba nodded eagerly and obliged, quietly laying himself against the ground on his side. Kaa smiled deviously and officially began to commence his plan. He slipped the end of his tail tightly beneath Simba's body, digging itself through to the other side of him. He wrapped it around the lion's body and immediately began wrapping it around him, steadily tightening his grip. By this point in his life Simba was very much used to being constricted in such ways by his master, so he no longer felt any fear knowing he was not going to die.

The python found the strength to lift Simba up off the ground and suspend him in the air although he was much heavier than before, constricting his slave with no remorse. And from there, Kaa whispered to him, "You know what to do, lion!"

And then, Simba's end of the plan could begin. He let out a fake scream of pain and made an effort to sound agonized, echoing across the jungle landscape. It took Kaa every ounce of self control he had not to laugh at his pet's false squeals of pain.

And when he looked over to his side, he already knew that everything was falling into place. The sleeping bear's eyes shot open immediately leaping to his feet, growling simultaneously at being so abruptly woken up. But when he look ahead, the look of anger on his face vanished when he saw the lion being constricted by the might of Kaa. Simba was doing a good job at making his bloodcurdling screams sound real, because the bear gasped in horror at the sight ahead of him, suddenly feeling the need to help this innocent soul.

Springing forth, the bear roared loudly as lurched forth and unsheathed his claws, his eyes angrily intent on Kaa. The bear leapt forth and moved his claws out in front of him, roaring loudly as he planned to save the suffering lion.

And it all fell into place from there.

"Now, Simba!" Kaa shouted as he immediately released Simba from his grip, making him fall to the ground in an instant. Kaa had just enough time to move out of the way of the bear's malicious path as he came crashing to the ground against where he once was. Dirt was thrown up in the air upon impact, and before the creature cold realize what was going on, Kaa whipped his tail forth and coiled the bear around his body, throwing him to the ground while he did so. The bear roared and swung its claws all around in an attempt to escape. But it did no good. As Kaa's grip on the bear strengthened much tighter than he had with Simba just before, its cried of pain were becoming more agonizing and it became instantly clear that the bear was suffering just from the constriction. But it was not yet enough.

Through gritted teeth, Kaa turned to Simba and said loudly, "Go! Do what you must!"

Nodding, he leapt forth to where the bear's head was, just barely avoiding getting slashed by his rapidly moving claws. He glared down at him for a moment. To make things easier, Kaa suddenly flipped the bear onto its back where it could face upwards so Simba could slash his throat.

"Do it Simba! Now!" Kaa urged.

The bear struggled and tragically tried to escape the python's slimy grip. But his sorrowful cries did no good. Simba raised his paw up into the air unsheathing his claws, and it was here that the poor bear figured out what his fate was going to be. He cried out in sadness only for no one besides the two of them to hear.

But as Simba's paw went into the air, a brief thought went through his mind. For the first time since his childhood, a trickle of his instinct could make it through his mind. It was a thought that said 'Spare this creature. This is wrong.'

Sadly this thought was short lived as his hypnosis took hold once more, and at last, Simba slashed his claws down to the throat.


	4. The Past Returns

Chapter 4: The Past Returns

"Excellent, lion cub... excellent indeed." Kaa said as he squeezed the coil tighter around Simba's neck. "You have come a long way as expected."

A few more years had come to pass since the incident with the bear. In that time Simba had finally grown a full, vibrant red mane and was now a young adult in lion terms. As of now, he was training once more to endure Kaa's strangling grasp as his large body was held in the air by his neck. He couldn't breath at all while he scratched at the scaly coil squeezing his throat, which Kaa felt only as a minor nuisance (even if his claws were more developed). However, he knew that years of this relentless torture had let him build up a strong tolerance for the pain and he could now easily stand it for over ten minutes at a time; that is, if he really tried. One slip up and the mighty lion would be dead within seconds.

Finally, Kaa released his hold and let Simba fall to the den's ground like a sack of coconuts, where he landed on his side. The lion gasped loudly for air as he took in precious breath while his eyes widened in fear. For a brief time he thought that his limit was about to be broken in that one instant, but not that he would admit that of course.

"Well done, my pet," hissed Kaa, half-impressed and half-coy. "That's the longest you've withstood it yet."

"Thank you, Master," said Simba, still recovering from the constriction.

"As a reward, I will let you hunt for this week's diner all on your own," said the python. "You've most definitely earned it this time."

"Great!" exclaimed Simba, leaping up excitedly. "You won't regret this."

"I'm sure I won't," said Kaa, confidently.

With that, the lion gave his master one more look before he eagerly sprang out of the den and into the sunlight outside, which was serenely streaming through the canopy of the trees. For quite some time now Simba had longed to be able to make a kill on his own and truly prove himself to his master, but every time he tried to do so Kaa would always show up and finish off his prey for him, claiming that Simba was not yet strong enough to do it by himself. Kaa would always say he only did it because he cared for him, but in reality the devious python only did it because he knew that if the lion were to slip up, he would have to go back to sneaking up on his prey by himself. Only now was he confident enough in Simba's strength and size to let him at least attempt the hunts on his own. And the way he saw it, if his pet were to prove successful in doing so, he could be able to relax for the rest of his life without ever having to hunt for himself again.

As Simba ventured into the jungle with teaming plant life scattering the place, he kept his wits about and his eyes, ears and nose pealed precisely as Kaa had taught him in the past. He kept at this for a long time as he went ever farther outwards, quietly walking deep into the heart of the jungle. Soon he did come across a region that lay rather close to the boundaries, where the jungle would end and the desert would begin. As oblivious as he was about this, his timing and location would soon prove to be absolutely crucial in every sense of the word.

While Simba walked forth through the low-laying plants around his paws, he did not see that a large lioness around his age was intently stalking him from the bushes close by. She cautiously stepped forth as to not make any sounds and took little notice that she was staring upon another lion. The silence was almost eerie in this time. Then when the time was right and Simba lingered directly into her line of sight, she made her move.

Maliciously roaring, the lioness leapt out to tackle him and was fully prepared to end his life right there. But Simba, who was at first caught off guard, looked to his left just quick enough so that he could see her ripping through the plants in his direction. His eyes widening in sudden shock, he dodged her the nick of time by swerving himself forth, making her fall and slide against the ground. Immediately leaping back up to her paws, Simba had not time to question the sudden attacker and realized he would have to put Kaa's skills to good use right then. Running forth at one another now, Simba roared ferociously when the two stared to fight. Simba brought her to the ground at first, but the lioness was quick and she swiped at his face with her claws, disorienting him for a moment. She took this opportunity to immediately start to bite at his neck to kill him, but Simba was fast and he used his unsheathed claws to rip at her body, forcing her away from him now. He pushed her off of him and the two stood against each other now growling relentlessly, their eyes burning with bloody malice.

But then as they were there in that brief standoff, the lioness stared deeply into Simba's eyes and unexpectedly, her expression softened somewhat. Something about his eyes seemed familiar to her, like something she had known in her past. She didn't want to let her guard down since for all she knew, this was just any other lion she'd never seen before. But deciding to take the risk out of relentless and unquenchable hope, she took a gamble.

"Simba?" she spoke, sounding rather bewildered. "Is... is that you?"

The lion was about to charge forth and attack her had she not said this. Immediately he cocked an eyebrow and his posture lightened. "What? H-how do you know my name?" asked Simba, sounding very clearly confused. "Do I know you?"

"Do you remember me? It... it's me, Nala." she replied with hope in her voice. She still wasn't completely sure if this was really him, but she still went ever on with her gamble. "I came all this way on blind faith, hoping the rumors were true. We... we need you, Simba. We have to go to Pride Rock."

But as much as he tried to, Simba didn't understand. "What's a Pride Rock?"

Nala sighed, sheathing her claws back. She looked away from him for a moment before she said looking him in the eye, "Do you remember me? We were friends as cubs back in the Pride Lands. We got into that mess with the hyenas, I used to always pin you, you'd always hate getting baths while I never minded... none of that sounds familiar to you at all?"

Simba shook his head. With her hope beginning to fail, she walked forth to Simba and came up closer to him, officially letting her guard down in terms of fighting.

"Look... I don't know if you're really him or not, but your eyes... they look exactly the way Simba's did."

"My name is Simba." He replied. "How do you know my name?"

Nala's heart soared once more when he said this. No other lion in all of Africa shared his name, so she had little to no choice but to believe that this was the same Simba she had known since childhood. Her eyes widened and she even managed to break out a weak smile.

"It has to be you."

"Look miss, if you're looking for someone, you could've just asked me." Simba said back to her. "At the very least, could you just tell me what you're doing here and who this other Simba is?"

Nala sighed. "You really don't remember, do you?" She asked in a sad way. But nonetheless, she wouldn't let her hope die just yet. "Maybe if I can explain this the right way, you'll remember."

"I doubt it, miss. W... what's your name?"

The lioness perked up, realizing she hadn't even told him her name. "My name is Nala."

Simba shook his head again, looking as though he was thinking about something. "No... doesn't sound familiar to me."

"So much for that, then." she muttered to herself. She cleared her throat. "All right, let's try something else. I tell you why I came down here, and at least try to remember anything at all, because I know you're him."

Although Simba was taken aback by these words in this unprecidented encounter as a whole, he soon came to the conclusion that this lioness no longer wanted to kill him. He figured that he could at least hear her our before doing anything.

\------

Nala angrily stormed away from the massive citadel that was Pride Rock, breathing heavily as she did so and not even bothering to look anywhere but down the barren ground she walked upon. Just minutes before, the horrible dictator of a king that was Scar had tried to physically seduce her to become his queen and to produce him an heir, despite the fact that she was several years younger than him. He had tried nearly everything he could in order to convince the lioness to give herself to him, but the king's efforts proved futile.

Nala sighed to herself as she walked on, thinking about how sick Scar had to be in order to suggest such a thing. For a while she simply walked forth for a few minutes before she stopped to sit down, giving herself time to think about certain things while she rubbed her eyes with her paw. She sat herself down in the middle of what was once a lush grassy field, now reduced to nothing more than a desolate plain of stone with only the occasional dead tree here and there. At first she was silent and in deep thought about many things, most of them involving Scar in some way and how badly she wanted him to step down. Never before had she ever wanted so badly for a miracle to happen to not just her, but to everyone in her pride. Nala slowly looked up to the grim and cloudy sky, silently praying that there would come a way that Scar's tyranny could end and that life could be restored to the savannah. For a moment, it all seemed hopeless.

But as little as she expected, her sincere prayers had just been answered.

Her train of thought was interrupted when she heard a group of hyenas begin to talk amongst themselves nearby, making her perk up slightly. Turning her head in the direction she heard the voices, she squinted her eyes. The lioness wasn't able to pick up on any words being said, and having not been able to talk to much of anyone as of late, she grew curious. She walked forth where the voices began to get louder to the point where she could just faintly hear the conversation that had just started.

"Man, didn't Scar say that we'd never go hungry again?" A voice said.

"I don't know how much longer I can put up with this, guys." Another replied. "I mean he couldn't be doing worse if he tried, I swear!"

From here, Nala could see ahead of her a group of five hyenas gathered together in a group, sitting amongst one another. Three of them she could recognize by the voices as Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed.

"Ugh", she mumbled to herself. "Even they know how bad he is."

But then, she heard something interesting start to go down in the banter.

"But you guys know what?" Shenzi said, her tone slowly beginning to change. "I think I'd still rather be here than in that jungle a few miles down, am I right?"

The other hyenas seemed to nod in agreement, a few of them throwing out some sly, agreeing remarks about it.

"Don't tell me about it." Another said. "I've never even seen him, and he still freaks me out just by hearing about him."

"Who?" Banzai asked.

Here, Nala's curiosity began to pique. She looked around her for a second before, close by where she was, the lioness saw a large stone that was fizated in the ground, just tall enough for her to hide behind so that she wouldn't be seen by the hyenas. She didn't want them to know she was listening in on them just for the sake of curiosity, so she took no chances.

Now making an effort to keep her steps quiet, she crouched down and crawled over to the rock, never taking her eyes off of them to make sure she couldn't be spotted. She made her way over to the rock and kneeled down behind it, just barely peering over the edge to see them converse. From here, she listened intently at the words of the five hyenas.

"You know, Kaa?" The hyena said to Banzai. He perked up when he heard this.

"Oh man, don't even talk about him." He said with his voice indicating a sign of genuine fear, a tone Nala had never heard from him before. Once before she did hear about someone named Kaa who resided in a nearby jungle, who preyed upon innocent animals wherever he went. She hadn't heard much about him, but she knew that Kaa was a python and she knew about his infamous legacy, which was enough to intimidate her.

"You wanna know what I heard?" Shenzi started. "I heard that python's got himself a little stooge now. He's helping him out with the killings and all."

At the mention of this, everyone shuddered, Nala included.

"You can't be serious, Shenzi." One of the other hyenas said disbelievingly.

Shenzi shook her head. "No, I'm hearing it everywhere- he's got a lion helping him now."

"Good lord, what idiot would be stupid enough to do that?" One of them asked. "I mean as if he wasn't already bad enough!"

"I swear," Banzai said. "If that snake gets into the Pride Lands, it's gonna be one serious bloodbath."

"That's assuming we're not strangled first," Shenzi added, morbidly.

"Where would he even find a lion like that?" Another hyena asked curiously. "What lion around here has ever even gone out that way before?"

Shenzi thought for a moment before she replied, "From what I heard, the guy found him out in the desert when he was a kid. Heck, if you ask me he's only workin' for him because he owes him one."

Three of they hyenas nodded in agreement, while Banzai grew an odd look on his face. He suddenly said to Shenzi, "Hey, didn't we chase that little brat out that way once?"

Shenzi looked over to him. "What was his name again?"

Banzai replied, "I think it was something like, uh.. I don't know, Simba or something?"

That did it. Right at the mention of the name of Simba, Nala's eyes widened and she felt a freezing chill shoot down her spine. She gasped to herself, almost loud enough for the hyenas to hear.

"Yeah I think that was it." Shenzi said in an odd tone. "You don't think..."

"Nah, he's gotta be dead by now." Another hyena said. "You guys said he ran out into the desert. There's no way a little wimp like him could last more than five minutes out there."

"Not on his own." Shenzi said back. "They say that his little stooge was in the desert passed out on the ground. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to think that could've been him."

Banzai smacked his paw against the ground. "Dammit! I knew we should've killed him when we had the chance! I should've gone after him! I could've gotten him!"

Shenzi smirked. "Uh yeah, good luck gettin' through the thorns, then... ya' cactus butt."

As the hyenas around her laughed while Banzai simply groaned in annoyance, Nala's mouth was hanging open in shock there from behind the rock. She looked downwards and contemplated the words for a moment. She whispered to herself,

"Simba... he was alive..."

Initially, she didn't know how to feel or what to think. If the hyenas' words were in fact truthful, the one best friend that she had as a child could still be alive somewhere out there. At first she refused to believe it since Scar had told her long ago that Simba died in the stampede along with his father.

But as she thought, an idea came to her: What if Scar only mistook him as dead, and he was simply passed out? From there, a theory was suddenly forming in her mind. Perhaps Simba had been knocked out when Scar found him, and then maybe he awoke later on. He could've tried to get back to Pride Rock but then was chased away by the hyenas, forcing him into the desert.

That was only her idea after considering what Scar told her. Even though what was not at all what happened, it was the best guess she had. And then, another idea came to her: If he was still alive, what if she could leave the Pride Lands to find him and bring him back so he could take his rightful place as king? It was a long shot for certain, and after hearing that Kaa apparently had some kind of lion accomplice, it fit together perfectly with the idea she had about what happened. She took a deep breath.

After Scar had tried to seduce her, she was willing to try anything to get him away from the throne once and for all. And if there was any hope at all that Simba was alive, that would be the absolute best way.

And with that, she turned around and faced the direction of Pride Rock, the large stone against her back now. She gazed upon its form in the distance against the dull skies, thinking about what Scar must've been doing or saying right then about her rejection. She had no doubt that he would try again to convince her, and she feared that the next time would not be so easily resolved.

The prospect of leaving the Pride Lands to search for her long lost friend was one that came to her as she looked upon Pride Rock's depressing appearance right then. The wind began to blow when she did, ruffling her fur somewhat. Abandoning the kingdom just for the sake of someone who might not even be alive would be the biggest risk of her life, especially since the other huntresses could get suspicious about such a disappearance. If she said anything to them, they would undoubtabdly try to stop her saying it was a lost cause.

But then, a determined look grew upon her face. She didn't have time to say her good-byes to anybody. Her pride was dying, and if Scar wasn't going to do anything to fix that, Nala would've rather died herself than not even try to do anything for the others. She took a deep breath.

"I'll find him..." She said. "I'll find him and bring him back here. For my mother, for Sarabi, for the pride... and for Mufasa."

That last part she said while looking up to the sky. Then turning her attention to the south, she inhaled deeply as she stood up and tensed her whole body. She had heard once before that the jungle Kaa lived in was in that direction, so if there was any hope Simba was alive, that would be it. So acting on faith alone, Nala treaded forth to the south, stepping over all of the dry bones that now littered the place and ignoring any hyenas she passed by.

Within ten minutes, the lioness stepped out of the kingdom's borders, having been extra careful in making sure none of the other lionesses saw her. And with that, her pace quickened to that of a sprint, moving out into the desert of Africa with Pride Rock now so far away she could no longer see it. She ran forth as the sun began to set behind herm just barely allowing its light to get through the clouds that covered the Pride Lands.

And now, her paws ran across the blazing hot sands and barren terrain of the place. She was acting on faith and on faith alone, all in hopes of finding Simba alive. Even if he was under Kaa's control like the hyenas said he was, she was confident that she would be able to fight him off if she needed to.

Home was behind, the world ahead.


	5. Forget Me Not...

Chapter 5: Forget Me Not...

Finishing her story, Nala took a deep breath as she faced Simba directly in the eye now. The whole time, the lion had been listening very intently on her words in hopes of mentally finding some recollection of her. Nala took a step forth, with her face now up to his.

"So you see..." She started. "That's why I'm here, Simba. I left here hoping to the great kings that you'd be here... and here you are. The only thing I have left to hope now is that you aren't under Kaa's control like the hyenas said."

That last part she said with sadness rising in her voice. Simba opened his mouth to say something on the matter, but in an instant every hope he had of being able to do so was shattered.

"Such a heartwarming story. I almost feel sorry for you."

Simba and Nala both jumped when they heard these words and immediately looked over to see none other than Kaa himself slithering in between them. Nala's heart in particular was beating faster as fear began to take hold. She was at this point praying she'd be able to get Simba to remember and run back to Pride Rock with Kaa none the wiser. She had not planning on an actual encounter with him.

However, seeing as this had just now turned into a life or death situation, she gulped and gritted her teeth to try seeming threatening. The lioness could not afford to give up when there was even the smallest chance.

"Forgive me, Simba," said Kaa moving his face directly up to his. "I completely trusted you, but I had this nagging feeling that I had to check on your progress." He turned to Nala with a smirk. "It seems she has been feeding you lies. Very well thought out lies, if I do say so myself. But lies nonetheless."

Simba said nothing as his mind was incredibly baffled to put it mildly.

"Of course, you'd know that, wouldn't you, Kaa?" snarled Nala with a growl to follow it. Despite her bravado, her contempt for the serpent was very much real. "What the hell have you done to my best friend?"

Kaa smiled maliciously as he moved his head towards Nala. "You desire to learn how?" he said as he looked straight into the lioness's eyes. "Very well. You brought this on yourself, foolish girl." His eyes began to radiate their infamous hypnotic colors.

Nala tried to stand her ground but began to fall victim to the beautiful spirals. However, she managed to snap back to her senses and quickly shut her eyes.

"Oh my," Kaa said, surprised by his prey's willpower. "You're full of surprises, aren't you?"

"You won't control me," said Nala, determined as she turned herself away. Just then, she felt Kaa's tail wrap around her hind legs, stopping her and slamming her to the ground. Dread filled her as she knew from the rumors she had heard what was to come next.

"Fair enough," said Kaa, as he continued to coil around the lioness. "I usually prefer just constricting."

"W-wait, master!" cried Simba unexpectedly, which made Kaa raise an eyebrow. The lion didn't know why, but seeing Nala in danger made him very worrysome.

"Now, now, lion cub," said Kaa as he finished wrapping Nala in his painful coils. "Consider this one on me."

Nala was then lifted into the air as Kaa's coils pinned her forelegs to her side, making it seem like she was in a cocoon with only her head, tail and hind legs sticking out. She couldn't move at all as hard as she struggled, and was being held effortlessly despite her weight. She unsheathed her claws to try and rip through Kaa's body, but he was very much used to such a sensation when Simba used to do the same to him. Nala growled and shouted as loudly as she could as the pressure upon her entire body intensified beyond anything she had ever felt before in her life.

No... I-I failed, Nala thought terrified. In fact, in that moment in time terrified was no description at all for how she felt, and found herself unable to fake her bravado anymore.

"How tragic," said Kaa, looking straight at Nala's face, her eyes still shut. He took great delight in his prey's failure. "You suffered so much for this moment only to have it end like this. I will say this: You can be hypnotized and live happily with your friend as my slave or be slowly squeezed to death and become my meal."

Nala tried desperately to seem brave again. "Neither," she said, gritting her teeth. "I just want Simba back. Even if I have to rip him out of your control with my bare claws, don't think for a second that I won't do it."

Kaa smirked at her choice of words. "Of course a lioness like you would stay stubborn to the end" he said, beginning to tighten his coils even more. "That bullheaded pride never ceases to amuse me. Just be aware that you've essentially committed suicide."

Nala felt the coils crush her body painfully and, as if that wasn't bad enough, strangle her as her throat was squeezed. Her eyes widened in shock and her mouth opened to let out wheezes and hacking. In her past she was told horrific stories about close encounters with constrictors by scarred survivors, one of them even being a lioness she once hunted alongside. But she herself had never imagined the hellish experience happening to herself, nor could she ever comprehend that the pain was to feel like this.

Simba kept watching, feeling incredibly distraught but not knowing why. Did the lioness really mean something to him? Even though he had lived with him for so long, he at long last began to consider: were master Kaa's actions... wrong?

"Don't worry, little kitten," hissed Kaa, insulting Nala condescendingly through her grunts and growls of agony. "I'll put you out of your misery very soon." And horrifically enough, they python widened his maw as far as it would go, getting ready to swallow the lioness whole. He couldn't wait to feast upon her flesh.

Fighting the strangulation, Nala watched Kaa getting ready to swallow her as her entire life begin to flash before her eyes. After all she went through, this was to be the way her life came to close. As a predator, it wounded her pride both physically and mentally to helplessly be crushed and eaten so easily. But what made it hurt even worse was knowing how she failed to save her fellow pride and her own childhood friend. With the very little breath she had left, she managed to utter this to herself as she shut her eyes as tight as she could.

"I... love you... Simba..."

In that moment, Nala absolutely expected the worst. Never before in her life had she been so terrified by anything, not even Scar. She prepared for the inevitable, shut her eyes tight and braced for her demise.

But in an instant, that all changed.

As soon as she began to slip into Kaa's smily maw, a loud and vicious roar suddenly ripped through the jungle around them, catching them both entirely off guard. Nala's eyes shot open in shock, and even Kaa seemed surprised at the abrupt roar. Then turning over to where they heard it, they could see now that Simba was the one who made the roar. With the last of its echos dying off in the distance, they saw Simba was now crouching down in hunting position towards them both, now glaring maliciously at the sight. Nala gasped.

"Lion cub, what have I told you?" Kaa spat at him. "I will handle this!"

"Not anymore you won't." Simba replied through gritted teeth.

Kaa's eyes widened, as did Nala's. Although Kaa could not comprehended it just yet, Nala in fact did. Just moments before at the sight of seeing the lioness about to meet her demise, something in Simba's mind had snapped. Whether it was from instinct or from the spirit of Mufasa himself, he would never know. But no matter what caused it, the effect was clear: Simba's mind was reforming to its original state. All of his memories were slowly coming back to him, especially those with his childhood friend. And they had come back to him not a second too soon.

He growled maliciously at Kaa for a moment as the python cocked his eyebrow, raising Nala up and out of his mouth now. It did not take him long to realize what was happening.

"Could it be...?" Kaa said softly. "After all this time... after all I've done for you!"

"Put... Nala... down." Simba said madly.

Here, Kaa gasped very slowly as his eyes widened. His expression turned to that of seething anger towards Simba. He hissed loudly.

"So you've broken through my hold on you, is that so?" He said. His grip on Nala abruptly loosened and sent her falling to the ground. She struck it face first before her body tumbled to its side. Ignoring this, Kaa's malicious glare intensified as he turned to directly face his old pet.

"So your inner instinct has gotten the better of you at last." He said.

"Don't play games with me, Kaa." Simba said firmly. "I realize now what you've been doing now. You've been keeping me as a slave all my life, holding me against my will and using me to do the dirty work for you!"

Realizing Kaa would not be able to lie himself out of the situation this time, he hissed.

"You will not abandon me, lion cub! If I must put you under my hold again, I will do it!"

"Just let Nala go." Simba replied. "Let us both go and I'll spare your life. I don't want to fight you."

"Because you know I will kill you!" Kaa spat back.

"I can last longer than you think, you know that!"

"Don't tempt me, lion cub."

And with that, Kaa began to slither forth towards Simba at a vicious pace, his mouth opening to expose his razor sharp teeth. Determined not to be deterred by this, Simba roared fiercely at his old master and ran forth at him. And there they were, the lion and the python ferociously moving towards each other fully prepared to fight. Nala watched this as she staggered up to stand on all fours, her eyes widening. She gasped in shock.

"Simba! Simba, no!" She screamed.

But it was too late. Simba and Kaa clashed against one another there in the jungle clearing, and immediately they showed no mercy to either one of the other. Simba leapt forth and brought Kaa to the ground at first, gripping his slimy skin with his claws. but they only tumbled around for a brief moment when Kaa used his thick coils to grip around Simba's back legs, in an attempt to handicap him from the start. But Simba realized what he was doing and immediately leapt away from him, just barely escaping his grasp before it got too tight. Then he used his claws to try and keep Kaa pinned to the ground to some extend.

"After all I did for you, lion cub!" Kaa shouted. "I saved you from the desert, found you, treated you like family, and this is how you repay me?!"

Simba said back, "You used me so you wouldn't have to do the hunting for you! That's what you did!"

Not taking any chances, Kaa abruptly twisted his coils around Simba's body, this time making more of an effort to keep him from escaping. Simba tried to get away at first, but it did no good. None of his claws could reach where Kaa was constricting him, and as a result he was forced to the ground by his might. Kaa looked maliciously at him and tightened his hold on the lion, this time much tighter than he had ever had him before. But Simba was prepared for this, and held out as best as he could. Through gritted teeth, the lion managed to say,

"Don't do this, Kaa... Just let us go!"

Then, the python leaned his face in closer to him and started him in the eye. Kaa said darkly,

"Now, lion cub... you now have two choices. Either reform to be my pet once again, or both you and the lioness shall never live to see the sun set this day!"

Simba squirmed and moved around all he could within Kaa's slimy grasp. He didn't want to say anything back to him at all, but his grip was just too tight. The coils moved both up and down his body covering his back legs and his chest plus up to his neck. His whole body was incapacitated now.

"Choose!" Kaa hissed.

The lion attempted to rip away from Kaa using his claws, but they did no good. The python could feel his efforts for sure, but they pained him little. Just as Simba had gotten used to his constrictions, he himself had gotten used to the feeling of his claws trying to rip through his skin. He laughed at his futile efforts.

Finally, after he stopped moving around, Simba looked to his left. He absolutely refused to look his old master in the eye again, knowing now what kind of hypnotic power they withheld. He grunted painfully.

"Just let Nala go... and you can kill me. Just leave her out of this."

Kaa laughed again. "Oh, foolish lion cub. I once thought you would grow up to be a wise creature indeed. It seems that I was wrong."

And then, Kaa went for a move that Simba had only prayed he wouldn't: The end of his coils slithered up to his neck, moving themselves around it ominously.

"Last chance." He hissed. "Either follow me or die."

"Not on my father's life." Simba spat.

Seeing as though he wasn't going to give in, Kaa decided to do what he had truthfully not wanted to do- his coils tightened around Simba's throat, instantly cutting off all air to his lungs. He gasped and wheezed violently for any amount of air at all, but he could get none. The poor lion was being suffocated by his own master. He choked and fought for breath, but it did no good. His vision began to blur, distorting the world around him. He tried to say something, but found himself unable to. The sight of Simba in such pain made Kaa smile.

"If that is your choice... then farewell, little lion cub."

But then, as bleak as things may have looked at that moment, hope had finally answered.

"His name is SIMBA!" Nala screamed as she came bolting forth suddenly to attack.

She roared ferociously as she leapt through the air before either Simba or Kaa could fully comprehend what she was doing. Gripping his slimy body with her claws as hard and as deep as she could, Nala furiously bit down on the python's throat showing absolutely no mercy. Kaa cried out in pain and loosened his grip on Simba. Taking in precious air, the lion used his remaining strength to escape the coils now that he had not a second to lose. The python winced from his wounds for a moment until Nala removed her teeth from his throat, which had managed to puncture his scales. Seeing as though she had just enough time to do so, she immediately looked back over to Simba and went over to help him in his weakened state. He staggered on all fours while Nala placed her paw on his shoulder. Both of them looked over and glared maliciously at Kaa. Nala crouched back into hunting position.

"I doubt you can properly fight both of us like this," snarled Simba, standing by the lioness. "Go and never show your face to us again."

Kaa was about to hiss back in protest, but stopped as he winced in pain once more. As much as he so dearly did not wish to admit it, Kaa knew Simba wasn't wrong. He could take on one of them with little problem, but to take on two and while wounded no less was far too risky. He exhaled loudly.

"So my own pet has dealt me my first defeat," hissed Kaa, full of contempt as he slithered away. "How incredibly ironic. But know this, lion cub..." He snarled as he looked back to Simba and Nala, spitting his words as though they were poison. He finished with an especially malicious and intimidating tone, "This will not be our last meeting. Even if it will cause the death of me, we will meet again. And I can assure you... I will not be alone."

And with that, the mighty python that was Kaa slithered away into the distance of the jungle, heading up northwards. At long last, he was gone. The one who had caused Simba so lose so much of his life was forced away from his domain.

Once Kaa was out of sight, Simba and Nala both let out a sigh of relief as the lioness rested her head upon his mane. There was a long moment of silence as they both recovered from the fight with Kaa. For the longest time a silence lingered upon them both until Nala broke it.

"Simba..." She said softly looking up to him. "He..."

But Simba said for her, "Nala... thank you. Thank you so much."

When he uttered these words, he nearly broke down into tears. The lion and the lioness nuzzled happily for a bit before Simba went on. "I had no idea he was controlling me, Nala. All my life... my whole life..."

Nala placed her paw upon his own on the ground. She looked him in the eye. "It's all right, Simba. It's not your fault. It wasn't your decision."

"Even if he did save me that day in the desert", Simba started to reply. "I... I can't ever forgive him. All those horrible things he made me do. All those innocent animals he made me kill..."

Simba's voice began to break down in sadness, with the realization of just how much his entire life had been wasted only now beginning to hit him thanks to his 'master'. Regret filled his mind. Nala could easily tell by his anguished expression that he was hurt beyond comprehension. Simba sat down beside her, prompting her to do the same. The two of them sat together there in the jungle for a bit before Nala cleared her throat.

"Well... I've really missed you." She said nuzzling him. Perking up, Simba returned the nuzzle.

"I've missed you too." He replied with a tear running down from his left eye.

"Nala", Simba started. "About what you told be with why you even came here... was all of it true?"

Nala nodded, her tone now becoming more serious. "Yes, Simba. The Pride Lands are completely destroyed. There's no food, no water... if we don't do something, everyone will starve."

As soon as she said this, a wave of remembrance came over Simba. He recalled quite clearly that, although it was long ago, he had watched Mufasa die right in front of him. And as far as he knew, it was all his fault too. His eyes closed.

"That's right." He muttered to himself. "It's my fault... it's my fault."

"What?" Nala suddenly asked. Simba opened his eyes again.

"Nothing." he lied. "Just... I was thinking about my father. What would he say if he could see where I am now? Wasting my whole life away when I should be king right now?"

Nala thought as hard as she could to think of what to say something to this. A moment passed before her eyes widened and she brought her face in closer to Simba's. She smiled.

"Well, I think he would say that you need to remember who you are. You're his son and the one true king. If we go back to the Pride Lands now we can set everything right and save them all from starvation or worse."

As she said these words, a soft breeze picked up in the jungle, ruffling Simba's mane around. Somehow, it felt right. He smiled back at her.

"That... that sounds like what he would say." Simba said warmly.

Simba and Nala had a very tender moment following this as they nuzzled. Somehow and some way, even despite all Simba had unwillingly done for his master, they were going to set things right. One way or another, they were going to get his life back on track.

And eventually, they did.

THE END


End file.
